Anderson at home in Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS — There was a time when David Anderson wasn’t so sure he was made for breathing mountain air.

Fresh breezes from the Pacific Ocean were more his style. Bright sunshine, minus scorching temperatures, is what he preferred.

He grew up idolizing college football standouts from his home state of California.

Times have changed for the Colorado State University standout wide receiver.

He’s no longer California Dreamin’.

“I’m very entrenched in where I’m at and what I’m doing,” Anderson said. “I love the fact that here at CSU, we’re a blue-collar team.

Recommended Stories For You

“It seems like we have a rivalry every week. CU hates us. BYU hates us. Air Force doesn’t care for us and Wyoming really hates us. Every week, we’re playing for some sort of trophy or plaque. That’s what is unique about college football.”

In his fourth season with the Rams, the compact 5-foot-11, 195-pound Anderson has definitely made a name for himself.

Last season, he was a semifinalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, presented annually to college football’s top receiver. He ran his consecutive games with a reception to 19 before Wyoming found a way to halt him.

His name comes up when researching prestigious college football publications like Lindy’s, Street & Smith’s and Athlon Sports.

Anderson is steadily climbing CSU’s all-time receiving charts, going over the 2,000-yard mark last season, which included a career single-game high 233 against Brigham Young University. He’s had seven 100-yard games in his career at CSU.

Now, record-setting numbers are nothing new to Anderson, who came to CSU via Thousand Oaks, Calif., where he holds all the major receiving records at his high school.

Anderson takes an 11.1-yard average-per-catch into today’s 4 p.m. home game against Nevada, and it’s no secret he’s the Ram’s go-to guy.

Anderson is so in tune with the college game and his surroundings in Fort Collins that he has yet to figure out who to cheer for on the professional ranks.

“I’ve been to one pro game, and that was last year to see Bradley Van Pelt,” he said. “Even growing up, I didn’t find myself into the pro games. I loved college football.

More specifically, Anderson is a closet University of Southern California fan.

He can’t even recall the time his father took him to the Los Angeles Coliseum to watch the Raiders.

Okay, he does follow the Lakers when football season is over, but he’ll sneak as many peeks at the USC score as he can.

“I idolized USC players when I was growing up,” he said. “I still have a huge interest in USC, so you can imagine how I felt when we played them last year.

“I know some of the guys on their team and I even played against some of them.”

Truth be told, Anderson was able to watch the Trojans a few times last year — against the University of California, when they took on Notre Dame and the national championship game against Oklahoma.

“I still love the Trojans,” Anderson said. “Of course, I hated them for one game last year, but I now cheer for them.”

* SEEING GREEN: CSU athletic director Mark Driscoll wants to see green in all directions Saturday afternoon when the Colorado State University football team plays host to Nevada in its home opener at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

Saturday’s game has been designated “Green Out” day as fans will be able to view the changes made at the stadium in the offseason.

“We want our fans to show their support for our program by wearing green,” Driscoll said. “We want the entire stadium in green.”

In the last 22 months, more than 4,000 permanent bleachers have been added to the north end zone along with two new scoreboards and a video board.

There have been 12 new luxury boxes, a renovated press box and expanded seating in the club level added.

Saturday is also “Ag Day” at CSU, where the school pays tribute to its agricultural heritage.

* LOOKING AT NO. 600: The next victory for the CSU women’s volleyball team will be the 600th for the program.

The Rams are 599-327 in 30 seasons under four coaches with the majority of the wins coming from head coach Rich Feller (299-167) and Tom Hilbert (226-48).

Senior outside hitter Tess Rogers became the ninth Ram in school history to record 1,300 kills, hitting the milestone against Florida A&M. She needs just 31 kills to move into the eighth spot on the all-time kill list.

The Rams rank 16th nationally in average attendance with 1,361 fans per match. They also ranked second in the Mountain West Conference behind Brigham Young University (1,829). Hawaii is No. 1 in the nation with an average attendance of 7,385, followed by Nebraska at 5,229.

Samuel G. Mustari is sports writer for the Tribune. He can be reached at 970-352-4437, Ext. 11234 or via email at mustari@greeleytrib.com